If making peace were easy, there would be no problem getting to it. But with Obama’s help and perhaps that of other leaders, perhaps we can attain peace.
By JERUSALEM POST READERSLet’s go for it!Sir, – Three cheers for US President Barack Obama! He tells it like it is (“Obama at UN declares ‘no shortcuts’ to peace,” September 22).If making peace were easy, there would be no problem getting to it. But with Obama’s help and perhaps that of other leaders, perhaps we can attain peace, that most precious of all goals.Real peace can only be achieved by hard work on both sides, with the US pushing gently but firmly from the sidelines (and also directly). Let’s understand this: It will be difficult to achieve but it can be done if both sides show they mean business.Let’s go for it!LEONARD ZURAKOV NetanyaWhat’s to go for?Sir, – Herb Keinon (“Obama tells Israelis what they’ve been waiting to hear,” Analysis, September 22) writes: “Cynics will argue that [US President Barack] Obama doesn’t mean it, that he is just mouthing the words – pandering to the Jews, worried about reelection....” And these cynics would be absolutely right.Obama has continued to deny us our rights to build in what he calls settlements; our rights to Jerusalem as our eternal capital; and our rights to self-defense.He has callously remained silent to pleas from the prime minister and president of the State of Israel to free Jonathan Pollard from 26 years of imprisonment in conditions he would never allow Israel to keep even a terrorist. He has also remained callously silent to each and every overture made to him by hundreds of his own people.So please, don’t let us get carried away. The Obama we heard and saw at the UN is the same hostile Obama we know and should continue to distrust.EDITH OGNALLNetanyaNarrow sampleSir, – Your headline states that “70% of Israelis say government should accept UN decision on Palestinian statehood” (September 22).The poll was conducted jointly by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah. Whom did they poll - members of Peace Now?SONYA FEDERMANJerusalemDo they deserve it?Sir, – The need for a Jewish homeland was recognized because Jews were being oppressed and massacred based on their religion. The Palestinians face no such oppression or threat of extermination. Their suffering is a direct result of poor governance, meddling neighbors and terrorists, all of whom have maintained the Palestinians’ status as perpetual refugees to serve their own desire for vengeance, power and recruitment.For decades, the Palestinian leadership had the resources and support to create a better life for the people, but its myopic focus on the destruction of Israel has always trumped the creation of Palestine. Now, having failed to defeat Israel, the Arabs are demanding a state that includes territories they used for offensive strategic value and lost in wars of their own doing.To the defeated aggressor should never go the spoils.GARY TAUSTINE New YorkSir, – Why is it that the Palestinians, arguably one of the most hammered people in the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Arab world, cannot have their own state? They deserve a certifiable voice in the conflict. If we listen to them and give them a chance at peace, especially by extending the olive branch of statehood, we will find the Palestinians most ready to express their grievances by voice – the most powerful instrument – and not by the gun, for permanent and fair change.DAN LEVY New YorkSir, – Israel’s boundaries were determined at San Remo 91 years ago and reaffirmed by the League of Nations thereafter.The Arab leadership acquiesced.The Jewish people allowed the British to defy the internationally determined boundaries of the Jewish state when the Arabs were found to be in possession of massive oil reserves. The 1948 boundaries did not reflect the correct dimensions of the international boundaries, and only in 1967 did the State of Israel acquire the land improperly denied her.The current strategy of the Palestinian Authority to seek illicit enrichment from the UN should be reciprocated by Israel applying to the International Court to give a clear determination of the position that leading international jurists find in Israel’s favor.LEON RUSKINHereford, UKDiplomatic upgrade Sir, – To pick up the Post and see MK Ahmed Tibi sitting there with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas while on his way to New York and the UN (“MK Tibi posts photos with PA delegation following ethics complaint,” September 21) is enough to make you want to scream!Does anyone need to be reminded that Tibi is a member of Knesset, while Abbas has aligned himself with Hamas and went to New York to further insult and threaten us? Is anyone else angry?How can Tibi continue to be a member of Knesset? Is its Ethics Committee going to confront him? Hasn’t he crossed a red line?HELA CROWN-TAMIR Neveh IlanMoney for nothingSir, – It was so uplifting to read Gil Troy’s column (“In 5772: Bet on the real Israel, not the pretend Palestine,” Center Field, September 21). It tells Israel’s side of the story, with all its successes and inventions, compared to the Palestinian Authority, which, despite having billions of dollars thrown at it every year, produces absolutely nothing.Now is an ideal time to reduce or stop the massive payments as the PA goes against all signed agreements and norms with its statehood farce. All donors, including the US, should carefully evaluate what and whom they are supporting, especially in this time of economic difficulty.JUDY PRAGERPetah TikvaTainted townsSir, – It is highly disingenuous for actor Rami Baruch to claim he feels he cannot perform in Kiryat Arba because it is “where Baruch Goldstein and [Rabbi Meir] Kahane came from” (“Controversial W. Bank cultural center opens,” September 21).Does this mean he will refuse to perform in Herzliya, which is where Yigal Amir is from? How about Rishon Lezion, the hometown of Ami Popper?MENACHEM G. JERENBERG Ramat Beit ShemeshSir, – Rabbi Meir Kahane did not live in Kiryat Arba, as Rami Baruch claims, but immigrated from New York in 1971 and lived in Jerusalem until his murder in 1990.And as Baruch asked about his “place in this whole story,” all he has to do is look in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 23. Our matriarch Sarah died in Kiryat Arba/Hebron, and Abraham purchased the Cave of the Patriarchs to bury her. This is in the Torah, and this is his place in the story.CHANA PINTO Ra’anana Gremlins strikeSir, – I would like to point out a malapropism that crept into your otherwise highly commendable editorial “Overcoming gender” (September 16).
Although the subject is serious, I could not resist a chuckle at the thought of “croqueted” kippot.DONYA MEIJERJerusalemSir, – I often get a laugh from your mistyped headlines, but “‘Irving 11’ case over Oren heckling goes to jury” (September 22) really takes the cake.ANNICE GRINBERGRehovotThe Editor responds: The headline should have said “Irvine,” the campus at which Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren was heckled.
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